Once Upon A Time
by archivedfics2013
Summary: But Olivia wasn't a helpless princess, and Peter wasn't prince charming. Polivia angst, AU depending on how you look at it. Oneshot.


**A tiny one-shot that popped into my head. Post Marionette (sort of), K plus. No copyright inFRINGEment intended.**

**I'm from Australia, so please excuse some spelling differences. (e.g. blonde/blond, armour/armor).**

… … …

They should have been a fairytale.

She should have been a beautiful young maiden whose family had passed away and was forced to be a slave to her wicked stepmother, or imprisoned in a tower all alone. He should have been the prince who rode in on his horse and swept her off of her feet. It should have been love at first sight, a heart warming tale of romance and bravery. Of course somewhere in the tale he would have to fight against some dark knights who had shining silver swords, or an evil sorceress cloaked in black. But they would have their romantic kiss at the end, and they would ride off into the sunset together, her golden hair catching the sunlight, her arms wrapped around his waist as his horse galloped off into the horizon.

But Olivia wasn't a helpless princess, and Peter wasn't prince charming.

Olivia was tough, selfless, hardworking, and determined. She was beautiful, yes, but she would never have let herself be locked in a tower, she wasn't stupid enough to bite into a poison apple, or prick her finger on a spindle. She fought to the bitter end, and then some. She was not a princess, she was a knight, a knight whose shining armour of _I'm fine'_s and _don't worry about me_'s never faded. There were occasions when allowed herself to take the armour off, but they were rare. She dedicated her life to helping others, but let no one help her. She wouldn't sit around and wait for someone to save her, she'd do it herself.

And Peter wasn't a prince, charming as he may be. He didn't own a shiny horse but rather a rusty old car, and his hair did not always sit perfectly. He wasn't born to royalty, but to the village sorcerer who was famous for his lethal tendencies and frightful yet endearing persona. The part of the villain rather than the hero had always suited him better, and being forced into the role of protagonist wasn't easy for him. Until her, he hadn't ever rescued anyone but himself. He wasn't unfamiliar with sweeping people off of their feet, but he had always just let them fall to the ground when he was finished.

He'd never swept _her_ off her feet. He'd wormed his way in through the tiniest cracks in her armour, and sometimes she didn't mind. He'd taken the time to examine her from the inside out, closer than anyone else had ever dared get. At first she had let him because she needed his help to fight the evil forces, and then later because _she_ had needed _him. _Even knights in shining armour weren't completely invulnerable.

It was never love at first sight. Or second, or third. In fact, it was such a long, quiet process that they didn't acknowledge it until absolutely vital. They were both afraid of falling in love, and denied it to each other and themselves until they no longer could. It wasn't even lust at first sight - perhaps the smallest hints of attraction, but they were both far to worried about other things to feel much towards the other in the beginning.

Their tale wasn't hear warming, nor did it include men in armour or cloaked sorceresses. Such characters were far to tame for them. The story brought an ache to the heart rather than a warmth, and the creatures that they fought were far more gruesome and terrifying than simple storybook villains. There was violence, slaughter, betrayal, suspense, terror, and bloodshed. It had its sweet moments, but they were usually overshadowed by the fear that was their constant companion. It had you thinking that maybe there was some hope, before it sucked it away in one of it's cruel twists.

They were yet to find the end of their story. They'd reached the point where Cinderella had ran away from the ball, where Snow White had bitten into the apple, where Sleeping Beauty had pricked her finger, where she had been locked away in an alternate universe while he'd slept with someone thinking it was her. Those events usually happened near the end, but their story was not nearly over, not remotely. There were plenty more monsters to slay, and trust to be regained.

Even if their story did end well, it was doubtful that they would ride off into the sunset together. More likely they would sit in her apartment nursing a bottle of whiskey and various injured limbs. Perhaps they _would_ let each other in, and not make any big mistakes this time, but they wouldn't get their happily ever afters. There had already been too much loss in this story to classify it as 'happy', and no amount of hero's and heroine's falling in love could change that. And 'ever after' is a subjective term, because you never learn the true endings to the stories, do you? Just because the pages have all been turned and the book had been put back on the shelf, doesn't mean that the story is over. The prince and the princess may have been happy in that final moment, but whose to say that some other tragedy didn't strike them, it simply wasn't put down on paper? Once this story of theirs was over, who knows what ones may follow?

And that was if they were both lucky enough to survive to the last page.

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**Please review!**


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